Opportunities for farmers and growers to provide heat services from renewable technologies such as bioenergy, solar and ground source heat pumps are set to grow rapidly, according to the NFU.
The government has announced the details of its “ground-breaking” £860 million Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI).
Displacing oil-fired and natural gas heating, as well as coal, it is hoped the RHI will add to UK energy security at a time of rising costs for heating fuels, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and making a major contribution to Britain's obligations under the European Renewable Energy Directive.
NFU chief renewable energy adviser Dr Jonathan Scurlock said the RHI scheme, which will be introduced this year, “will provide certainty to many potential participants following repeated delays to its launch”.
He said: “With nearly half of Britain's energy used in the form of heat, it makes sense to drive the uptake of low-carbon heating across a wide range of technologies - many of which have a natural fit with the diversity of our members' farmer and grower businesses.”
“Our initial reaction to the RHI is cautiously optimistic - the scheme may have its flaws right now, but it is a bold initiative, and we will work with the government and other stakeholders to improve and refine it over time,” he added.
The scheme is being introduced in two phases - targeting mostly large non-domestic heat users in the first instance, from July 2011 onwards, with more comprehensive support for households coming in as part of the 'Green Deal' in October 2012.
It is hoped rural communities in particular will benefit from the RHI, since many 'off-grid' homes and businesses not connected to the gas network have a limited and expensive choice of fuels at present.
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